Disguised Emotions
by incendiopuff
Summary: Ronald and William secretly like each other, but what will happen when William rejects Ronald after showing his feelings for him...


Chapter 1

Ronald sat at his desk staring at the papers in front of him irritably. It was just like Grell to dump a load of work on his desk and then swan off to stalk Sebastian! Sure, he had agreed to help Grell with his paperwork, but he had meant he would _help _him, seeing as he was so behind, not do it all for him! How was he meant to write a report from scratch on work he hadn't even done? He sighed and pushed the mountain of paperwork away, rubbing his eyes as he wearily got up from his desk. The office was deserted apart from him, and William was talking to the new Shinigami, Charles, in his office.

Well, to be exact, Charles wasn't exactly _new;_ actually he was quite a famous Shinigami, but he had been recently transferred to William's department. No-one knew the exact reason for why he was moved, but it had become apparent over the last few weeks that Charles was actually a slacker, and he couldn't be bothered to use his skills that had made him so famous in the past.

He picked up the paperwork he had managed to finish and he was just about to walk over to William's office, thinking up a good excuse for not completing the task, when the door slammed open. Charles stalked out of the office, barely sparing a glance for Ronald before walking away. William appeared at the door to his office. "I had not dismissed you Charles!"

Charles took no notice of his boss's displeasure and he left the Shinigami realm without a further word. William sighed and ran a hand through his hair, messing up the usually neat strands. His eyes were tired from countless nights of solid work, the usually bright green dulled. Every fibre of his being screamed exhaustion, from the bags under his eyes to his skewed tie and rumpled shirt. It had been a while since Ronald had seen him less than professional in any way. William returned to his office, not even realising the silent witness to the event.

Ronald cautiously approached the office and hesitantly knocked on the door, opening it when he heard a quiet "Come in." He stuck his head around the door to see William working diligently at his desk. He was slightly afraid of his boss's mood, not wanting to catch him at a bad time.

"Ermm, I've got Grell's report here-"

"Just put it on the pile Ronald."

He nodded even though William couldn't see, as he was so focussed on his work. Ronald placed the paperwork on William's desk before turning back to said Shinigami. William sighed and put down his pen, deigning to look at Ronald. "What is it?" He adjusted his glasses and fixed his usual stern glare behind them.

Ronald fidgeted under his intent stare. "Well, the report isn't actually finished yet…" He trailed off, going red. William hardly reacted at all and Ronald hoped that he would just get a reprimand and be allowed to go.

"I suppose it doesn't matter… Grell will have to catch up later."

Ronald blinked in surprise; he didn't expect to get off that easily. He went to leave quickly before William could change his name but then he stopped short. "Boss, what just happened with Charles?"

William continued to work without looking at Ronald, speaking in his detached, emotionless voice. "He will no longer be working with us."

Ronald gaped in astonishment at William. "You've just sacked the most famous death God in the world and you're not even upset about it? Wow, you really are emotionless…"

William glanced up at Ronald as he said this, and Ronald swore he saw a flash of hurt in his green eyes for a second. He inwardly cursed himself; he hadn't meant to say that out loud. But surely William knew this anyway?

He always had a façade on at work and no-one had ever seen under it. No-one knew William's true feelings since he pushed them all away if they tried to get close to him. You could only tell how he was feeling if you looked for the miniscule signs, like his eyes being slightly duller than usual, or a slight change in posture. Ronald quickly flicked his eyes away from William, as if worried he could read his thoughts. The thing was Ronald could always detect these changes of William's demeanour. He tried to convince himself that it was just because he had known his boss for a long time, it certainly wasn't because he _cared_, and it _definitely_ wasn't because he had feelings for him…

"Emotionless…" William repeated this word as if trying to taste it on his tongue. "You all think I'm emotionless." The way he said it made it unclear if it was a question or a statement, so Ronald stayed quiet, shifting from foot to foot, and wishing he had just left after delivering the report. He wasn't sure if he could leave or not though, so he quietly sat on another desk which was behind him.

William adjusted his glasses again and got up, moving around his desk until he was standing in front of Ronald. He stood a little too close for Ronald's liking and the awkward silence stretched between them. Ronald attempted to break it. "Well… you know… you never really seem to care about anything except work and… err…" He trailed off under William's intense gaze.

William placed his hands on the desk either side of Ronald, looking down into his eyes as Ronald looked up confusedly. "I don't let my emotions get in the way of work, but that doesn't mean I don't have any. It's just professional." Ronald was completely confused by this outburst. Well, it wasn't really an outburst because William doesn't have outbursts, but he had certainly never spoken like that before. It was as if he desperately needed Ronald to understand something. Like a silent message.

The air seemed to change between them as they continued to stare into each other's eyes intently, William's holding a message, and Ronald's trying to understand. William drew closer to Ronald, so close that Ronald could feel the warmth of his body, but he didn't pull away. "W-What emotions are these?"

William leaned slightly closer and his voice had dropped a few octaves. "Emotions… that I've been holding back for much, much too long…" His lips were only millimetres away from Ronald's and his green eyes trapped Ronald there. He was so sure he was going to kiss him… just a little closer…

"WILLIIIAAAAMMMMMMMM!"

Before Ronald knew what was happening, William's façade was back, and he had been pushed over the back of the desk and out of sight, whacking his head against the floor. He could vaguely hear William being engulfed in a hug from Grell and a flash of jealousy went through him.

"Ohhh William I've missed you sooooooo much! Do you know where Ronnie is? He was meant to be doing some of my paperwork for me and I really need to thank him for it! Hey… are you okay?"

William was struggling to push Grell away from him and when he finally disentangled himself he had to readjust his glasses, which had been knocked askew by Grell's flamboyant hug. "Ronald has left already, but he didn't finish your report so you'll have to do some overtime tomorrow to get it done." He fixed Grell with a stern glare. "Ronald shouldn't be doing your work for you anyway; he has enough to be doing already." He turned away in obvious dismissal.

"Awwww William you're so dashing when you're like this!" Grell left the room, squealing to himself like a little girl. Ronald stood up, rubbing the back of his head, where a headache was already developing.

"What was that for!"

William sat down at his desk and picked up his pen, once again not meeting Ronald's gaze. His face was set once again in a guarded mask. "I wouldn't want people to get the wrong idea. Particularly Grell, you know how he likes to gossip."

Ronald stared at him in disbelief, feeling disappointment and hurt wash over him. "T-the wrong idea… I'll just… leave then." He spoke softly and his voice broke a little. When this didn't elicit a response from William he opened the door that Grell had so recently run out of, but before he left he whispered something in a voice so soft that William almost didn't catch what he said.

"They're not the only ones who would get the wrong idea…"


End file.
